


Watching over you

by Ruquas



Series: Marvel Bingo 2019 [12]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Ceiling Vent Clint Barton, Fluff, Gen, marvelbingo2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-12
Updated: 2019-07-12
Packaged: 2020-06-26 23:17:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19778503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ruquas/pseuds/Ruquas
Summary: He didn‘t even mean to make it a habit at first. He just wanted to make sure that Pietro was okay. Just like with Phil the first time the other man had been hurt on a mission. Or Natasha. Or Tony. Or any other member of the team. He even had slept above Steve’s quarter a few nights, and he was a super soldier.





	Watching over you

No one knew when it had begun. Or why. Or even how. Not even Phil had known if it was a habit Clint had picked up over the time while being at S.H.I.E.L.D. or if Clint had already done it before.

„He just likes the vents, I think. He can see everything but no one can see him. Don’t forget, he’s a sniper. They usually like to stay hidden while watching the others.“, Phil had explained to Tony once when he had asked. Tony had just shrugged, never really cared about it. Sure, it was slightly unsettling to sometimes hear Clint crawling through the vents late at night (especially after a movie night with one of Steve‘s shitty horror movies because the guy just loves those things, can you fucking believe it?!), but who was he to judge? He locked himself in his lab for days, even slept there when he wasn‘t feeling well. He had his labs, Clint his vents. So when they moved from the tower to the Avenger‘s facility, he made sure to design vents that weren‘t as tight and narrow as usual vents were, put a bigger space over everyone‘s quarter so that Clint could curl up without cramping after a few hours of being there and watch them sleep, hear them breathing, knowing that his friends were alive, well, no one asked him why.

If he found a steaming cup of coffee every morning in his new lab, even though it was closed up and FRIDAY wouldn’t let anyone in with Tony’s permission, well, he wouldn‘t ask, either.

~*~*~

„Why does he do that?“, Pietro asked one evening no one in particular while making himself a sandwich in the kitchen.

„Who‘s doing what?“, Bruce finally asked when it became clear that no one would answer the young man‘s question.

„Hawkeye. He‘s sleeping in the vents above my room. It‘s kind of… creepy you say?“

Bruce nodded and made a noise, but didn‘t answer right away, taking his time. How could someone explain Clint? Was it even possible to explain Clint’s obsession with the vents? Well, probably not.

„He‘s making sure you‘re alive.“, Natasha answered instead, not looking up from her tablet, the steel in her voice clear. „It‘s not creepy, he‘s just afraid that you‘re going to disappear or stop breathing.“

Surprised, Pietro looked up and felt bad. That wasn‘t really creepy. It was kind of nice. Okay, maybe a bit creepy, but in a nice way. That’s a thing, right?

„Isn‘t it uncomfortable? Vents aren‘t that big.“

„Tony build them wider than the usual vents. Clint can move and sleep comfortably in even narrow vents, for him, it‘s almost a luxury apartment up there.“

Pietro nodded and disappeared with his sandwich in his room, thinking. Then went to the kitchen to make another one and opened the vent in his room. Sure enough, those were wide enough for a grown man to fit without issue. And sure enough, there was a blanket in the vent, old and worn, with small dogs on it. Pietro put the sandwich down next to the blanket with a note, so that Clint would see it and began to prepare for bed.

~*~*~

Hesitantly, Clint crawled through the vents to his destination. He knew that it wasn‘t something most people were comfortable with and he was just so fucking thankful Fury had never forbidden it at S.H.I.E.L.D. - or Phil for that matter – but still, he knew how uncomfortable most people were when someone crawled through the vents to watch them sleep. Or even crawled through the vents. He knew that Phil had gotten quite a few complaints about that, even if the other man never said anything.

That was why he was always extra careful when going up to Pietro‘s quarters. He just wanted to make sure that it wasn‘t a dream. That the kid really got better. Really wasn‘t dead. Obviously, he hadn‘t been quite enough. But to be called creepy? Yeah, that was a new low, even for him. But yeah, he could understand the kid.

He didn‘t even mean to make it a habit at first. He just wanted to make sure that Pietro was okay. Just like with Phil the first time the other man had been hurt on a mission. Or Natasha. Or Tony. Or any other member of the team. He even had slept above Steve’s quarter a few nights, and he was a super soldier. Good god, was he thankful that there were always vents above every quarter because like that he could still pretend that they didn‘t know how attached he became over the time. That they didn‘t saw how desperate he was to just see them breathing.

Maybe Pietro was right, it was kind of creepy. He still needed his blanket back. No. Not needed. But he really wanted to have it back. It had dogs on it. The blanket Fury one night had left in the vents above his quarter after Clint had already slept there for a few days, and you could say what you wanted, the vents at the helicarrier were fucking cold. And then he knew that it was okay for Fury that he slept above the quarters and Clint never knew why he tried to pretend Fury wouldn’t notice him. He didn‘t know why, but it was always especially calming for him to hear that Fury was breathing. Fury was the one thing that had never really changed.

So when he crawled to his blanket and saw the sandwich sitting there on a plate, he stopped. He never took food with him. Taking food with him would mean that he wouldn‘t go to the kitchen to eat and then his absence would be noted. And then people would look for him and maybe someone would come into _his_ vents. He wasn’t prepared for that. Carefully, he crawled to it. Turkey and mustard with salad and eggs. He could even see a few tomatoes on it. He loved that combination. There was a note stacked under the plate, almost invisible.

_“So you won‘t starve, old man. Old people need their veggies, too. If you want, you can also sleep on the couch. Might be comfier. Sorry for calling you creepy. You‘re not. Well, not always.“_

And then, in even worse handwriting underneath it;

_“Nice blanket. Dogs are nice but not as great as cats.“_

Clint smiled and curled up in his blanket, positioning himself that he could see the bed in the room under him perfectly. Could see Pietro in it, sleeping, his mouth hanging slightly open, his own covers sprawled on the ground, hand resting on his belly. He looked so much younger than during the day. Almost younger than he was. 

The couch wasn‘t good. It would mean that someone would see him. Would know that he was desperate to see them breathing. It was better to pretend that they didn’t know. Vents were nicer. But he didn‘t expect the kid to understand. It was still nice to see that he was allowed to keep watch.

And his sandwich tasted like heaven, so it was okay that Pietro had a shitty taste when it came to animals. He just had to meet Lucky. Lucky could change everyone’s mind.

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the [Marvelbingo 2019](https://marvelbingo.tumblr.com/), which can also be found here on AO3.
> 
> You can find [my Tumblr here](https://ruquas-dreambell.tumblr.com/). If you have a request or anything, just let me know it there :)


End file.
